excerpt

Another Canada excerpt

/ Christiaan W. Lustig / 1 Comment

As promised, here’s another short excerpt from the 1994 Canadian Grand Prix chapter.

Approaching half distance of the Canadian Grand Prix, Ferrari’s Alesi pitted from third place on lap 31, leaving his position to Hill. The Briton stopped for fuel and fresh tyres two laps later, but stayed ahead of the Frenchman when returning to the track. On lap 34 Senna also stopped, handing Schumacher a massive lead of almost 40 seconds. His team’s strategy put the German spot on for victory: his one and only pit stop coming in lap 40 of 69.

Tell me what you think. Any comments are welcome.

Canadian GP excerpt… and a teaser, too

/ Christiaan W. Lustig / 2 Comments

I couldn’t help myself: I just had to post an early excerpt of the Canadian Grand Prix chapter of my Senna versus Schumacher book.

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Another excerpt from the Spanish GP chapter

/ Christiaan W. Lustig / Leave a comment

With the Spanish Grand Prix chapter now all but finished, I thought I treat you to a second excerpt, as thanks for your patience.

At the front, though, the first scheduled pit stops started taking place. Senna was the first to stop for fuel and fresh tyres, on lap 19, followed by Alesi, who was running fifth at the time, on the same lap. Before his first stop, on lap 21, Schumacher started experiencing gear selection problems. His Benetton-Ford soon appeared to be stuck in fifth gear. Despite that, the German pitted successfully, retaining his lead. He profited from his experience as a sportscar driver, controlling the car effectively despite being stuck in one gear. However, Schumacher was soon overtaken by the charging Häkkinen, on lap 23, while Senna reeled in both drivers. Then Häkkinen pitted, dropping to third, leaving the order, Senna, Schumacher, Häkkinen, with Lehto in a lonely fourth place, followed by Hill and Brundle.

I’ll re-read what I’ve added to the chapter during the next few days, fixing errors I may have made. Afterwards I’ll make some minor alterations to the first couple of chapters, too.

Excerpt from Spanish GP chapter

/ Christiaan W. Lustig / 2 Comments

I’ve been working on the Monaco Grand Prix chapter of my Senna versus Schumacher story for about a week and a half, now. I have to say, it’s not easy to combine writing with my day job, caring for our baby boy Nathan, household chores, and giving the missus some attention, too.

Well, you probably read the above before, and the ‘Monaco’ part probably gave it away. But the statement still stands, as I’ve only completed the practice and qualifying sessions for the 1994 Spanish Grand Prix. Here’s an excerpt:

The Benetton-Ford [attacked] the governing body over their [rule] changes. Managing Director, Flavio Briatore, believed that chances of an accident occurring had in fact increased under the new rules. The flamboyant Italian made his remarks in an open letter to FIA President Max Mosley, stating that initial tests showed that the changes “will decrease car safety in the future”. The team, however, risked being banned from the Spanish Grand Prix, because Briatore had also said he was not happy that his cars had not properly tested after having been modified to the new safety standards, and that he could not guarantee the safety of the Benetton-Ford cars. The FIA promptly kicked the team out of the race, with officials saying Benetton could not race unless they confirmed their cars had undergone testing.

Excerpt of Monaco Grand Prix chapter

/ Christiaan W. Lustig / 3 Comments

I’ve been working on the Monaco Grand Prix chapter of my Senna versus Schumacher story for about a week and a half, now. I have to say, it’s not easy to combine writing with my day job, caring for our baby boy Nathan, household chores, and giving the missus some attention, too.

However, I’ve completed both Thursday’s and Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions for the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix, as well as written about all announcements by the FIA regarding rule changes, on Friday. Here’s an excerpt from the Monaco chapter:

On Friday morning, Ayrton Senna announced the re-formation of the GPDA: “At the drivers’ meeting today, we agreed to form the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association. It was agreed that the representatives of the GPDA will be myself, Michael Schumacher, Gerhard Berger, and Christian Fittipaldi. The GPDA requests representation and recognition within the FIA to improve the safety of Formula One, after the accidents of Rubens Barrichello, Roland Ratzenberger, and myself at Imola, and Karl Wendlinger, yesterday. At our meeting, we discussed to take immediate action to look at the next three Grand Prix circuits, together with the FIA, for possible improvements.”

Tell me what you think.