Russian F1 Grand Prix 2014

Being in limelight featuring many sports events this year, I would say Sochi, the black sea resort town is easily my choice of sports city in 2014. It also become the first city from the Russian Federation to host the Winter Olympics. And it didn't stop there as Russia hosted its first ever Formula One Grand Prix in Sochi, the 16th round of the 2014 Formula One calender. Lewis Hamilton of Team Mercedes won this inaugural grand prix and inches closer to championship unless there are no surprises.

Sochi became the 70th race circuit and Russia the 31st nation to host a Formula One championship race. Back in October 2010 Russia signed a contract to host the race until 2020 with the possibility of further extension. Having secured a place in the 2015 calender it doesn't seems to be one off race atleast for now. And then was the surprise. Yes, Russia post issued a commemorative stamp to mark the inaugural Formula One race at the Olympic park in Sochi. The stamp features 2 Formula One cars and winter sports palace "Iceberg" in the background. A sheetlet of 8 stamps is another variant of this commemorative release. If everything goes on well we would see a race on the streets of Baku, Azerbaijan in 2016. New place, new stamp what else I want ?

20th Anniversary of the death of Ayrton Senna - San Marino

Years pass-by but his legacy continue. Following the several tributes that took place this May, San Marino postal administration made a fitting tribute for Ayrton Senna to mark the 20th Anniversary of his last race in 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, Imola. The stamp features a portrait of Senna, his Williams FW 16 and the Imola circuit of Enzo and Dino Ferrari where he drove his final race. He certainly had a liking for San Marino Grand Prix as he holds the record for most consecutive pole positions ( 7 ) at the same Grand Prix.

During the practice session of that fateful weekend of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, Austrian Roland Ratzenberger had a heavy collision with the concrete wall and was confirmed dead. Senna was shattered. "He was very shocked. He had never faced the reality of his profession before so starkly because no one had been killed during his time in Formula One" said Professor Sid Watkins. But the unfortunate accident occurred during the race and left the world shocked. On the track in the shattered remains of the car they found out a furled Austrian flag which Senna had kept to dedicate his victory to the Austrian Roland Ratzenberger. Such was his legacy it continues to inspire the world in many constructive ways.

In an another tribute to mark the 20th Anniversary the Williams F1 team placed the Senna logo on the nose of the FW36 this season. 

Click here for the list of tributes

Hungaroring is 20 years old

Somehow this was missing in my collection and I will take the blame for getting fancied on the new releases then and there.  A racing circuit holding races for 20 years continuously is extraordinary and still it continues to be the mainstay in the Formula One calendar. Yes, its Hungaroring and 2006 marked the 20th Anniversary.

Needless to mention as this is one of the favorite racing track of the celebrated driving legends as it won the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, and Fernando Alonso. To celebrate the 20th anniversary Hungary Post issued a special stamp portraying a chequered flag, outline of the circuit, the F1 logo and a racing car centrally placed in the stamp. "Hungaroring is 20 years old” written on the stamp gives a fitting finish. In 2013 Hungaroring completed its 28th season without a break from 1986 and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2010. For now its looking bright and I will wait for next commemoration stamp release which is not very far.

Legendary Formula One Drivers - Ayrton Senna & Gilles Villeneuve - Monaco

Initially surprised at the timing of these stamp releases but digging in more seems to incline towards an occasion. Both these Formula One racing legends belong to the Americas - Gilles Villeneuve - Canada and Ayrton Senna - Brazil. Monaco with their racing tradition and the association with Formula One racing has always have something on their postal calendar related to Formula One. Being the first set of stamps on Formula One for 2014, I quickly grabbed it and added to my ever growing collection. These racing legends are so popular for their racing careers which makes me to cut short on their background.

Ayrton Senna :  With reference to the famous maxim that years fly by, come May 1st it will be the 20th anniversary of one of the most successful and entertaining Formula One driver the world has ever seen. His career came to a tragic end when he died in a fatal accident during the 1994 San Marino Grand prix. Senna has won 3 world championships with McLaren and during his career he has set many records which are still unbeaten. He holds a special record of 5 consecutive wins at the Monaco Grand Prix from 1989 to 1983. Monaco released a set of 2 stamps one bearing the portrait of Senna and the other featuring a racing car. The stamp was so fitting that even his name on the stamps were colored in Brazilian, yet another fitting tribute to this great legend.

Gilles Villeneuve : May 8th marks the 32nd anniversary of this great Canadian racing driver. He was very popular for his competitive driving and the way he scaled up to the Formula One racing. He is one of the 2 Canadian drivers of the 13 to score points in Formula One racing, the other being his son Jacques Villeneuve who won the Driver's Championship in 1997. His life came to an end during an qualifying crash at the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix. Monaco released a set of 2 stamps as part of their Legendary F1 drivers series, one of them featuring the portrait of Villeneuve sitting in his racing car with his helmet on and the other featuring him in a racing car.