Intro to an American F1 Photojournalist - Jamey Price

When is a photograph more than a photograph? When it falls in the category of photojournalism.

Photojournalism is different from photography in that it “complies with a rigid ethical framework which demands that the work is both honest and impartial whilst telling the story in strictly journalistic terms.” If a single photograph can be equated to a single paint color, then photojournalism is the art of turning singular photographs into a Monet or a Van Gogh. Photojournalists create pictures that contribute to the news media. It is possible then, that the short definition of photojournalism is simple: A picture is worth a thousand words.

On that note, we’ll spare you our words and spend the next few days transporting you to Barcelona, Spain for Formula 1’s second round of testing. The expedition will be lead by one of America’s most promising professional sports photojournalists, Jamey Price.

Jamey Price, PhotojournalistJamey was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina – which is obviously no stranger to auto racing, as it is nestled deep in the heart of NASCAR country. A self taught photographer and experienced athlete, Jamey attended Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where he competed as a varsity swimmer all four years. Upon graduation, he moved to the United Kingdom to broaden his horizons and expand his professional experience on the international scene. Back in Charlotte, Jamey now competes “in the occasional triathlon” (just a walk in the park, eh?) and can frequently be found on the back of a race horse as a steeplechase horse racing jockey.

What about the other type of horsepower, the kind with four wheels? Jamey’s deep passion for covering racing has taken him from photographing lawn mower racing and grass roots dirt tracks all the way up to NASCAR, Indycar, American Le Mans and Formula One. Jamey’s award winning work has been featured around the globe in print and online publications such as Sports Illustrated, F1 Racing Magazine, Southern Living, The Racing Post, Autosport and the Charlotte Observer, to name a few.

With over 40 races and 11 wins to Jamey’s riding career, he adds:

I am no stranger to the highs and lows of life as an athlete and the pressures to produce results.

We hope you enjoy the highs and lows of testing from Jamey as he sends us his stories from Barcelona this week.

FTW! Introducing the Williams FW34

In the wee hours of the morning (in Austin, at least), Williams F1 Team revealed their car for the 2012 Formula One season: the Williams Renault FW34. Check it out:

Bruno Senna and Pastor Maldonado pose with the new Williams FW34 Renault. Photo: Andrew Ferraro/Williams F1

// The Car

The 2012 F1 season marks the team's 35th year competing in the sport, but it's far from "business as usual." Williams has rejoined forces with Renault for the first time since 1997 and is hoping to add to their previous partnership's 63 race wins, 4 Drivers' and 5 Constructors' titles. The Renault engine is a V8 power unit "renowned for its drivability, flexibility and durability." As a result of revised FIA technical regulations, this year's contender uses less than 5% of the parts from last year's FW33 and features the dropped nose at the front of the car.

A new Technical Director, Mike Coughlan, is behind the design and development direction of the FW34 and is excited to race:

“We are really looking forward to this season and from a personal perspective I can't wait to get the FW34 on to the race track. The factory has worked extremely hard over the winter to ensure that the car met its design, build and rig test targets and we start testing with the car prepared to a high standard. We’ve worked in close co-operation with all of our partners to achieve that, including Renault Sport F1. In the run-up to Australia, we will be working hard with our exciting new driver line-up to ensure that we maximise and unlock the full potential of the FW34. It is imperative that we demonstrate a continuous improvement in our performance and deliver results throughout the season.”

// The Drivers

Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas return to the line up, as Driver and Official Reserve Driver, respectively, and they are joined by Driver Bruno Senna after a consideredable winter evaluation process. All three competitors are excited about the FW34, team synergy and opportunities for the 2012 season. Maldonado is excited for his home country of Venezuela and hopes to give them good results as a thank you for their continued support. Vottas is looking forward to driving one practice session at 15 races in order to give him a better understanding of the car outside of the factory. And Senna added:

“I’m very excited to be back in action with the Williams F1 Team in Jerez. This is my ever first pre-season testing programme since I started in Formula One two years ago. I’m really motivated and looking forward to working hard and with everyone in the team. I hope we have a successful month testing and developing the car so we arrive in Melbourne as well prepared as possible.”

Williams F1 Team will join their competitors during winter testing in Jerez, Spain this week. Maldonado will drive Tuesday and Wednesday and Senna will be behind the wheel Thursday and Friday.

// The Partners

In addition to new car, new engine, new driver and new technical direction, Williams is also excited to expand their partnerships with some names even Americans will recognize, including Gillette and Head & Shoulders. Will we will see any commercials of Bruno stepping out of the shower and shaking a full head of hair? I can picture it now...

Hitting even closer to home, Williams continues to develop their partnership with native Texan Michael Johnson. Johnson is a retired American sprinter who still holds Olympic records in sprinting in addition to four Olympic gold metals and eight world championship gold medals. Last month, Williams F1 Team announced their partnership with Johnson's company, Michael Johnson Performance, which focuses on training top athletes in all sports. His performance center is located about 250 miles north of Circuit of The Americas (outside Dallas, Texas) but he has been spending time with the Williams team gearing up for a promising 2012 season. 

When Matt Jones, Head of Williams F1 Team's Marketing Services, visited Austin last month, it was evident that Williams is aligning a winning attitude with a dedication to excellence. You can sense Sir Frank Williams' excitement from today's launch:

“One could say that looking at the Williams F1 Team today we are off to a truly fresh start. We have a new car, new driver line up, new engine and new senior personnel. We also have a number of new partners who have joined the team in the past few months. I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome them formally and sincerely wish that they have an enjoyable and, most importantly, a valuable experience with us. The team has had a good winter at the factory and we feel ready and strong for the fight.”

Michael Johnson, Sir Frank Williams, Chairman and Team Principal, Williams F1, with Adam Parr, CEO, Williams F1. Photo: Daniel Kalisz/LAT Photographic

But that's not it. Williams just activated a new application on Facebook that allows YOU to discover in-depth info on the FW34, technical videos, un-released stats and facts, driver interviews and more. Via this app, they'll reveal exclusive content and give you a chance to win a personalized signed image and framed print from Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna:

• Feb. 7 - Tech changes
• Feb. 10 - Engine & exhaust
• Feb. 14 - Chassis & aerodynamic parts
• Feb. 18 - Tires/tyres
• Feb. 23 - Transmission & suspension
• Feb. 27 - Cockpit & drivers
• Mar. 1 - DRS & KERS
• Mar. 5 - Pitstops
• Mar. 9 - Final Reveal

Kudos to Williams for creatively keeping fans engaged; it will have us coming back for more. Go check it out on their Williams F1 Team Facebook page.

This Week's Million Dollar Question - When Will Red Bull F1 Come to Austin?

Sunset Over Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas - by Visualist Images, John Rogers

This is the view from the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge in downtown Austin, Texas. It hovers over Lady Bird Lake, is home to the world's largest urban bat population, and in the background, you can see the Texas State Capitol.

"Congress Bridge," for short, is where we hope Red Bull Racing will film DC's inaugural F1 drive this Saturday.

I've been keeping an eye on the City of Austin's permit filings since DC revealed his intentions to take the Red Bull Racing Showcar for a spin in Austin and LA during his summer holiday this month. We were beginning to wonder how Red Bull would shut down the main artery of downtown Austin, Congress Avenue, for such a worldly event, as it has never happened in the US before. I was convinced a vague, yet rejected, permit filed for Fox Sports Promo was going to be edited the day before the event and thereby approved, until a new revelation last night - a permit not-so-stealthly titled "F1 Comes to Austin" was filed on Friday.

David Coulthard at RBR Showcar event in Singapore - April 2011 - Image from Red Bull Racing

We believe, via numerous sources, that the Red Bull Racing Showcar expedition will be in Austin this Saturday, August 20 (and in LA on the 19th). And, that's about it. No word on time. No word on location. Their permit language is confusing in that it says: "Film crew will be shooting a Formula One Car Driving driving down Congress Avenue towards the Capitol Building and exiting towards 15th street." This could put us north of the Capitol and headed south, or on our preferred path from the Congress Bridge and heading north towards the Capitol.

Wherever we end up, this is going to be a great event for F1 in the US. We were looking forward to a weekend of F1 fun, with the SENNA movie premiere slated for the 19th. However, the release date for Austin has been pushed back a week, August 26, so you'll just have to make two trips to our fine city.

Plus, this is not Red Bull's first rodeo. They're used to creating wildly successful public events at the drop of a hat. Austin's 2007 Red Bull Flugtag competition drew the largest US attendance of over 85,000 people to the Auditorium Shores of Lady Bird Lake. Were you there?

Heads up: we also enabled hotel booking on our site last week. Why should you book with us? Because we support local businesses and invest back in the Austin community whenever possible. $2 of each hotel room rental per night will go to Big Brothers Big Sisters; having been a "Big Sister" in Central Texas since 2004, this charity is important to AGP. We can also help large groups with easy booking - contact us for assistance.

So, our question remains - Will DC and Red Bull COME AND RACE ITTM?

*We make no guarantees or assurances to the vailidity of planned events and are not responsible for cancellation or changes to revised event dates. Details provided for informational purposes only and no warranties are made or implied.

Everything Going Vettel's Way

We're very excited to share this Monaco Race Recap with you from our guest blogger, Harrison L.  Do you think Vettel can or will be stopped this year?

Everything Going Vettel’s Way

MONTE CARLO, Monaco – Sebastian Vettel powered to his fifth victory of the season with plenty of drama for the fans in beautiful Monte Carlo. Vettel won the pole Saturday after posting the fastest time of the day, with his time un-challenged because of the crash of rookie driver Sergio Perez. Perez, who gained his first points of the season last week in Barcelona was sent to the local hospital, but all reports indicate that there were not any major injuries.

On Sunday, Vettel’s luck continued as he, on heavily used Pirelli soft tires ("Prime Tyre" as the Brits say), was being pursued by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and McLaren’s Jenson Button. With only six laps remaining and Vettel desperately holding on to the lead, Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari crashed and sent Renault’s Vitaly Petrov into the wall, taking him out of the race. The crash lead to a pause in the field, which gave Vettel the opportunity to change tires to the super-soft ("Option tyre"), and once the race resumed he easily pulled away to cross the finish line first.

VICTORY DRINK:Vettel celebrates with his Red Bull crew after winning the Monaco Grand Prix. (Source: Getty Images)

Vettel had lost the lead after starting first, due to a tire mix up in his first pit stop. That gave McLaren’s Jenson Button the lead, who extended the gap between him and Vettel but was forced to pit on lap 48, which gave Vettel the lead that he never relinquished.

Button remained in third, following Ferrari’s Alonso who was putting pressure on Vettel for what many wanted to be the remainder of the race. Vettel being chased by both Alonso and Button was the exhilaration that all of the fans wanted. However, the anticipation of a pass from Alonso or Button was quickly gone, after the chaotic crash of Alguersuari and Petrov with just six laps to go.

Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi snuck through the crash to put himself in fourth place for the restart, but he could not stay in front of Red Bull’s Webber who passed Kobayashi to place fourth, and gave Sauber fifth place.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton had a rough outing from the beginning as he dropped to tenth place at the start. After a brilliant pass on Michael Schumacker, he then passed Ferrari’s Felipe Massa but they touched and Hamilton was given a drive-through penalty. He continued to fight back, and at the restart was given the opportunity to fix his rear wing that had been damaged in the Sutil crash. But at the restart he bumped with William’s Maldonado which the race stewards gave him an added twenty seconds to his finish. Even with all of his drama, he still picked up sixth place.

Force India’s Adrian Sutil piloted his team to seventh place, followed by Renault’s Nick Heidfeld in eighth, Ruben Barrichello of Williams in ninth, and Sebastien Buemi gaining a point for STR Ferrari in tenth.

Vettel’s win gives him 143 points, followed by Hamilton with 85, then Webber at 79, Button at 76, and Alonso with 69. With first and fourth finishes, Red Bull now has 222 points in the constructors standings, with McLaren at 161 and Ferrari at 93.

"Monaco" - Image Courtesy of Peter in 'Façonnable Inspirations'

The Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, Quebec June 10-12 is next up for the Formula 1 season, and it should provide great entertainment for those wondering if Vettel can continue his dominance, and if his teammate Mark Webber can get even or possibly pass McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton in the driver standings.