Brits on Pole

Is the current claim by Bernie Ecclestone that Donington Park will be fit to stage a grand prix within two years really a blessing in disguise for the Silverstone circuit?

Night owls who are also motorsport fans have been treated to an affectionate hour-long portrait of a British racing legend this week. Graham Hill: Driven was broadcast on BBC4 on Tuesday night, but you can still catch it for a few more days at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer. Coming as it does straight after the 2008 Monaco Grand Prix, a race which Hill made his own, it’s very difficult not to draw comparisons between the sport then and now.

An article in today’s Independent does Lewis Hamilton little credit, suggesting as it does that he won’t support the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association because he rather petulantly doesn’t want to pay the fees.

A leading British barrister has been appointed by the FIA to investigate whether or not Max Mosley’s much-reported sexual exploits had Nazi connotations.

Could the reason for McLaren’s relative lack of pace this season be down to the development moratorium imposed on certain aspects of the car following Spygate?

Former F1 world champion Sir Jackie Stewart has made an uncompromising call for young, successful drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen to help maintain the sport’s impressive safety record. He says the gap of nearly 14 years since a driver was killed has led to complacency - and that, when a serious accident inevitably happens, the current crop of youngsters will be unable to deal with the consequences.

Lewis Hamilton may find that his second year in F1 is a lot tougher than his first, according to veteran racer Sir Jackie Stewart. He predicts that Lewis may find that fierce expectations, a talented team-mate and a potentially under-performing car could all scupper his hopes of a title once more.

James Stewart, the elder brother of veteran F1 star Sir Jackie Stewart, and a racing driver in his own right, has died aged 76.

The Times has just published a long and illuminating interview with Sir Jackie Stewart, in which he discusses his career in F1, its appalling safety record at the time and the toll that the deaths of many friends and colleagues took on him.

The top one may have eluded him - Lewis Hamilton’s had no need to go out and buy a nice big sideboard on which to display his Drivers’ Championship silverware just yet. But still the awards keep rolling in.