Back in February, we referred you to a Netflix special documenting the racing life of Willy T. Ribbs, the OG black racing driver. In celebration of Lewis Hamilton breaking all sorts of records – already passed Schumacher’s record of 91 wins, soon to pass his all time number of laps led and ultimately the 7 driver’s championships – Sky Sports did a timely interview with the OG himself. As always, it’s fun viewing. Enjoy.
Haas DUMPS Both Grosjean & Magnussen
Does this actually surprise anyone? Grosjean has shown flashes of brilliance in the past but JUST flashes isn’t going to cut it. As for Magnussen, there’s still fuel in the tank but will he get another shot somewhere else? Not likely. Perhaps he can follow in his old man‘s footsteps and do sports car racing.
As for who may replace the duo, whispers of yet another trust fund baby entering the sport are abound. Do we really need Nikita Mazepin sitting alongside other trust fund babies Latifi and Stroll on the grid?
Red Bull: What to Do, What to Do…?
As Honda is set to leave Formula 1 after the 2021 season after mixed results this time around (3rd time in F1, if memory serves me correctly), Red Bull is now left holding its nuts in its hands with no readily apparent place to go. Would Mercedes provide engines to RBR? Nope. Would Ferrari? Maybe, but would Red Bull want them from Maranello considering how dismal engine performance has been in 2020? That leaves Renault. Remember their acrimonious parting a few years ago? (documented oh so in dramatic fashion by Netflix) The French manufacturer is probably Red Bull’s best (only) bet at this point. Sounds like Christian is gonna have to bend over and take one for the team!
LA Auto Show: Not Until May 2021
Considering COVID has relegated most noteworthy automotive events to “virtual” or canceled status, our (shutter) trigger fingers have been dying/itching for something to cover/photograph. The LA Auto Show happens to be an in-town event for us, so needless to say, we were hoping the numbers would go down and allow for some resemblance of normalcy at the LA Convention Center in November. Nope. We can’t have nice things because a certain portion of society at large don’t act with caution/not wear masks. You know what you can do with yourselves… But yes, the LA Auto Show has been rescheduled to May 2021. It’ll feel a bit weird attending the event in early Summer but we’ll take it. See you 8 months from now.
F1: Candian and Italian Bullshit
I’m sure that every Formula 1 fan already knows of Racing Point – owned by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll (is it just me who thinks he looks like a complete asshole?) – signed Sebastian Vettel to drive for them starting next year when the team will be known as Aston Martin (which Larry Stroll also owns) Racing. As a consequence of all this, Sergio Perez will lose his drive despite having a contract. As seen numerous times before, a contract doesn’t mean much in F1, apparently.
In the video by Formula World on YouTube – this is an excellent channel for F1 fans, by the way – Otmar Szafnauer, team principal at Racing Point describes how difficult a decision it was to bring Vettel on while letting go of Perez. I call Canadian bullshit on this. Stroll Jr. has played second fiddle to all of his team mates, including Perez. Vettel during the last couple of years has been absolutely trounced by his younger team mate, Charles Leclerc. So we are to believe that pairing 2 second drivers is going to produce a winning line up? Canadian bullshit. Daddy Larry wasn’t to demote his son and Vettel is the only former World Champion he could afford to hire. Kimi’s too old. No fucking way Lewis would go to a second tier team and Fernando would rather be at Renault.
The Italian bullshit referred to in the title of this post? If you are old enough, you’ll recall that Ferrari set out on a mission to create an all-Italian F1 team a number of years ago. As a result, they’ve stacked the team top to bottom with paisans which hasn’t led to much success for a very long time. And the only Italian driver promoted from within their young driver academy is the awful Antonio Giovinazzi. The only way they’ve been able to win is to cheat – look at 2019 vs. 2020, but let’s leave that for another discussion. But I digress. Toward the end of the video, none other than Jacques Villenueve comes to the same conclusion about the Scuderia. What do you know.
The Honda e: Yeah, I’d Rock It
Let’s face it. When it comes to electric cars, there aren’t any attractive options on the lower end of the pricing scale. About the only one that pops to mind is the Fiat 500e, but we wouldn’t be caught dead in a “car” that looks like it came out of a Mattel Barbie catalog. That all changed when we saw this. The Honda e. There’s nothing excessive about this car. It’s a true MVP (minimal viable product) in every sense of the term. But it’s so charming – are we allowed to use that word?! – and really harkens back to the days of the EF and EG Civic.
Honda has repeatedly said they’re bringing the e to the States, but there’s never been a release date for the car. We’ll keep our fingers crossed that this will make it production and come to these shores.
Koenigsegg Gemera: Holy 1,700Bhp Hyper Coupe!
There are a number of super coupes and sedans in the market to lust for. The Mercedes-AMG GT sedan. The BMW M8 Gran Coupe. The Aston Martin Rapide AMR. With all that being said, nothing… I mean NOTHING comes close to what Koenigsegg “launched” at the canceled Genera Motor Show today.
Called the Gemera, this beast rushes to 100kph in less than 2 seconds (??!!!!), cost about $1,000,000 a piece and only 300 units will be made. Talk about a perfect compliment to the Jesko! The former for an outing with the wife and kids, the latter for trips with the girlfriend(s) – as the case may be!