View From The Bridge

For as long as most can remember, Lewis Hamilton has retained his title as the king of the Formula One grid and until recently it’s a position that has remained unchallenged. For this very reason, the F1 community has placed Hamilton on an elite pedestal next to the likes of Michael Schumacher and Aryton Senna and if the world ran by the numbers, you couldn’t really mount much of an argument. Alongside an impressive resume of other broken records, Hamilton has led 5,126 laps out of a possible 15,588 in cars that make others look like horse-drawn carts. This distinct advantage over the rest of the field is something that Hamilton has grown with throughout his Formula One career, first starting as Ron Dennis’ wunderkind before moving to become the centre piece of Toto Wolf’s Mercedes empire. Now, I’ll be the first to admit, Hamilton is a great driver and when combined with a car that leans on every possible rule violation, its a recipe for a multiple time world champion. However, what ha...

With 4 races down and 18 to go, the 2021 Formula One season looks as it’s going deliver on it’s promise to bring back exciting motorsport. From front to back, the F1 back is filled with interesting driver matchups that aim to entertain right up to the chequered flag - a blessing compared to the 1 lap exhilaration that F1 fans have grown accustomed to over the last few years. However, whilst the racing certainly is fast, team principles patience isn’t and therefore some interesting driver changes are already appearing on the horizon - F1’s “Silly Season” has officially begun.  Over the winter break, the main story in F1 was Lewis Hamiltons contract, which remained unsigned until only a month before 2021’s inaugural race in Bahrain. Unfortunately for most, it seems Lewis is here to stay, winning 3 out of the 4 opening races and opening the door to Toto Wolf for a 2-year contract extension which would keep him in the lead Mercedes until 2023. Whilst this does all kinds of good for Ham...

In terms of motorised dominance, John Surtees sure gave it a good go. He remains the only person ever to win world championships on both two and four wheels and holds an infamous reputation for walking away from Enzo Ferrari. There is no question - from his inaugural race in 1950 to his retirement in 1972, he established himself as one of the greatest racing drivers who had ever lived.  To truly break down the man's success, it's probably simplest to divide his success into 3 sections - Motorcycles, Formula One, and Le Mans.  On two wheels, Surtees was pretty much unstoppable. From 1956 to 1960, he won 68 out of the 76 races he entered on both 350cc and 500cc engines and won seven world championships for the famed Italian MV Augusta. As the son of a British Motorcycle Champion, it was destined for the man from Tatsfield, England to follow in the family business and by the time he was 11 he had already had the technical proficiency of any professional mechanic and rider. In add...

Since 2017, there have been 80 Formula One Grand Prix. This means that in the last 4 years, someone other than Mercedes has had 80 SEPARATE chances to win just ONE race. Mercedes have won 52 – Hamilton winning 43 of them. I’m pretty sure even Mercedes fans are now sick of seeing Hamilton and wingman Bottas on the F1 podium, but their dominance as a driver line-up has started to raise some questions – mainly, are they the greatest 1-2 punch in F1 history?    Not even close.    It’s no secret that the fanfare around F1 has gone stale in recent years, and Mercedes dominance is the pièce de résistance. Since Valtteri Bottas joined in 2017, Mercedes have had a 65%-win rate and earned a combined 2,673 points. Hamilton (otherwise known as Batman) has won 43 races in this time, with Bottas winning a very Robin-like 9. Yet, it isn’t something we haven’t seen before – in fact, it’s been a lot worse.  The key difference is that despite there being dominance, it was a ...

  Welcome to Saturday\"s Sporting Icon!  Every Saturday, this page will showcase some of history\"s most unappreciated sports superstars. From the winding streets of Monaco to the NBA hardcourt, I think it\"s time to shed some light on the greatness of some of the world\"s least treasured icons. February 21st - Richard Seaman  In the pre-war era of the late 1930s, motorsport was seen in two contrasting lights. In Britain, motor racing was a hobby for the rich and a pleasant past time that looked more like a weekend at the Royal Ascot. On the other hand, Nazi Germany had turned motorsport into a tool for national propaganda, taking the opportunity to display Germany\"s might and technological dominance around Europe. However, there was only one man that ever got to experience both sides of this political battle and at the time, was Britain\"s most successful racing driver; Richard Seaman.  Seaman was born in 1913 into a British family of wealth and made cle...

Welcome to Saturday's Sporting Icon!  Every Saturday, this page will showcase some of history's most unappreciated sports superstars. From the winding streets of Monaco to the NBA hardcourt, I think it's time to shed some light on the greatness of some of the world's least treasured icons. Saturday 9th January - Pierre Levegh (24 Hours of Le Mans)  Outside of Formula One, the biggest race for international motorsport is undoubtedly the 24 hours of Le Mans. In 1952, 57 cars lined up to begin the historic race around the French countryside and only 17 would finish, among them sat Pierre Levegh. As a proud Frenchman himself, Levegh desperately wanted a French car to win on home soil, but with others not being able to provide a victory, he stepped up and delivered one of world motorsports' greatest ever drives.  In a car he built himself, Levegh drove for 23 of the possible 24 hours, with a perfectly healthy and capable co-driver sat frustrated and confused on the pit w...