June 2016 - The Mind of Rowan

No Championship but win number 19 for Nico while Lewis struggles and Azerbaijan makes its maiden bow: 2016 European Grand Prix Review

The eight round of the 2016 F1 World Championship took place last weekend with the Grand Prix of Europe. This time, the Grand Prix was held in the capital of Azerbaijan: Baku. The Grand Prix of Europe first took its place in the official F1 Championship in 1983 and since then with the inclusion of Baku has been hosted at 6 different circuits. The first three venues of were Donnington Park (where Ayrton Senna memorably won in 1993), Brands Hatch in Britain and Jerez in Spain. After that, 1999-2007 saw the race held annually at the Nurburgring in Germany perhaps due to

The last winner of the European Grand Prix: Fernando Alonso for Ferrari in 2012 alongside the man with the most wins in this event; Michael Schumacher (6) then in his comeback spell with Mercedes.

the successes of Michael Schumacher; indeed his 6 victories in this event is the record. It was Fernando Alonso’s championship successes of 2005 and 2006 that saw the Grand Prix move from Germany to the Valencia Street circuit which held races from the 2008 season until 2012. It seems fitting that the last victor of a European Grand Prix was Fernando Alonso, driving in his home country for Ferrari in 2012. read more

The EU Referendum: Questions and Answers

Although some are probably pig sick (evening Prime Minister) of hearing about the EU Referendum, 23rd June 2016 (tomorrow) could well and truly be a historic date that will feature in History textbooks in 50 or 100 years time! Tomorrow, the people of the United Kingdom will go to the polls and answer the question: Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union (EU) or Leave? In my last political post, I asked if my readers could forward some questions they have surrounding the Referendum. To those who did, you know who you are and I thank you! In this post, I will be answering these questions as well as some set by myself that I thought would be useful for you all to know.

When do the Polls open? read more

Near faultless Lewis reigns supreme in Montreal for the Fifth time: Review of the 2016 Canadian Grand Prix

Moving on from the narrow streets of Monte Carlo, this weekend Formula One moved to Montreal for the 7th round of the 2016 season and another much-loved event: The Canadian Grand Prix!

The Gilles Villeneuve Cicruit — The Gilles Villeneuve Circuit

The Canadian Grand Prix has been on the Formula One calendar consistently since 1961 with the 2016 race being the 53rd edition of the event with the last time the event was not held in the F1 Championship was 2009. The race has always been held in the South Eastern area of Canada being originally held at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario on one year and Mont-Tremblant in Quebec the next. Mosport park would hold the race by itself as the latter circuit was deemed unsafe in 1970. 1978 saw the Canadian Grand Prix move permanently to the Ile Notre-Dame Island in Montreal where organisers connected roads on the man-made island into a race circuit. The first winner of the event in Montreal read more

Euro 2016 Preview

We are just a matter of hours away from the start of the European Championships; affectionately known as the Euros! When France and Romania kick off on Friday night, they will start a whole month of football (10th June to 10th July) and the 15th edition of this tournament. The tournament has changed a lot since it began in France back in 1960. Having started with 4 participating teams from an eligible 17; the 2016 tournament will feature 24 teams! France host this tournament for the third time in its history (having also hosted Euro 82) while Spain come into the tournament as defending champions and the only nation to have defended this title (2008 and 2012). This will also be the first time since Portugal in 2004 that one nation alone is hosting the tournament as Austria and Switzerland followed by Poland and Ukraine hosted the 2008 and 2012 tournaments respectively.

The initial tournament in 1960 used only two venues. Fast forward again to 2016 and this time France are using 10 stadiums spread throughout the country. read more

How should I vote in the EU-Debate: Review of the TV debate!

As some of you may have heard, or are sick of hearing…there is something called an EU Referendum happening this month. Each and every one of us will all have the opportunity to answer one simple question; should the United Kingdom remain a part of the European Union, or leave the European Union? Although this seems to be said by one politician or the other during the course of a major election is that it will be a generation-defining election. The importance of this vote cannot be underestimated; it will be generation-defining if not a historically defining vote! Therefore, It could never be more crucial to register to vote and have you voice heard! To register to vote please follow this link and register by midnight tomorrow!

This piece will be reviewing a debate surrounding the referendum broadcast live by the BBC on Thursday 26th May called, ‘How should I vote-The EU debate’. The debate took place in Glasgow and was hosted by Victoria Derbyshire. Participating in the debate was Alex Salmond of the read more

Lewis wins race number 44 with car number 44 in the Principality: Monaco Grand Prix, 2016 Review

Hello there and welcome to my first ever blog post regarding Formula One and I could not have chosen a more spectacular or prestigious event on the Formula One calendar than the Monaco Grand Prix, around the narrow streets of Monte Carlo! The Crown jewel of Motor Racing and the one place that ever driver dreams of winning!

The 78 lap Monaco Grand Prix; with a race distance of 260.286km, is the sixth race of the 2016 season and has been ever-present on the F1 calendar since 1955. Located on the Mediterranean coast, the circuit is the tightest of all circuits on the calendar and with its winding barriers makes overtaking very difficult (but not impossible). So, the qualifying hour on Saturday is perhaps one of the most important of the season. Before 2015, the previous 6 races had been won from pole position with the only exception in the previous ten years being Lewis Hamilton winning in the wet in 2008 and the wrong decision to pit in 2015 gifting the win to Nico Rosberg. Rosberg coincidentally, was going into the weekend having won the previous three races in the principality and aiming for a fourth straight Monaco success although he does not have the record for most wins around this circuit. That record belongs to the late, great Ayrton Senna who won the race a total of 6 times and 5 in succession from 1989 to 1993. read more